i love to see the temple

yesterday was a very special day.
i have wonderful parents.
the sweetest fiance.
fun little grandmas.
hilarious siblings.
and great in-laws.
i am filled with happiness and excitement.
peace and joy.
and lots of love.

can't wait for the next five days.

sunday evening recap

finished some of the invitations. this one is heading out to mr. and mrs. preston reese (aka our apartment that preston currently lives at by himself while i live at my parents) we accidentally forgot a few inserts in two of the invitations. whooops.

presty got home from the jimmy concert in vegas today. he came home to a countdown chain that just happened to match his shirt. can't you tell how excited he was?! there are 26 little chains, and each chain says why i'm excited to marry him. i know i'm a cheeseball.

sneak peak

here's one of my favorite pictures from our engagement sessions (we got them back this morning!)
i love this one, but preston and my mom voted against it for our announcements...so i decided to share it here instead.
i looked through all of our pictures today probably around 100 times. i was nervous to get them back because i wasn't sure how they turned out. we had a crazy time getting up to the location, getting some props, and assembling outfits. of course, we were running late and a few things changed, but i still love how they turned out! we kinda look like siblings don't ya think?!
today i also met with the caterer and went to a wedding reception. we talked about all the ice cream and italian sodas with the caterer. then preston and i sang celion dion on our way to the reception (he knew the words better than i did. he says his mom taught him!) that is one of the many things i love preston. and he is just so darn cute! look at that picture and try and tell me otherwise. he doesn't like his face in it, but i think it's absolutely adorable.
in case you couldn't tell, i just adore my fiance.
30 more days people!!!

on the fridge

the fridge at my parents house shows what a crazy mess our lives have been lately......

the hanson home is going a little crazy with graduations, endless wedding stuff, siblings moving in and out, and krissy's prom. the next few weeks are sure to bring more madness.



we also picked up the invitations. there's this huge, daunting box of invitations sitting in the kitchen, waiting to be stuffed. the grandma's got a little preview of the invites, so i decided to show a very small preview here too! my invitation lady did a fabulous job. i also went to joanna's with my mom to buy the ribbon and lace to go around the invitations. they look heavenly. bet you can't wait to get your invitation now:)

we are barely sane after compiling all the addresses, moving preston into the apartment, going to bridal showers, easter parties, and jetting to colorado for a quick trip for a cousin's farewell. i have had a few little melt downs that result in going to yogurtland

(they have this amazing coconut chocolate flavor. you really need to try it. you're not living until you do)

i'm not quite sure what happened to me not eating sugar?!?

i also had my first official dress fitting with melissa on saturday, and that was motivation to kick my butt into gear. no more yogurtland here. but really, the dress is only pieces of fabric right now, but i still love it. she experimented with draping the fabric a few different ways for the skirt, and we picked the way we liked best. it really is a creative process.

we're also taking our engagements at the end of the week. and naturally, i'm breaking out because of the stress. perfect timing huh? anyway, here's us practicing for our engagements.

besides all of that, it's nice to be out of school.
and to be completely in love.
life is good.

my parents:

sealed July 16th 1980

in the Salt Lake Temple

for time and all eternity

don't you love the white tux?! i really should talk preston into getting one.... they're coming back in style, right?

if he hadn't already bought a handsome grey suit, maybe i would. although i think the white bow tie just might be a little too much for him to handle.

but now for the fun part--my mom's dress. it has this awesome lace neckline and lace detail work on the bottom. my mom looks like an angel in it (well, perhaps minus the hair! sorry mom).

on sunday, my mom pulled out her old dress from her hope chest. i tried it on last summer after coming home from london, but it didn't fit. i had high hopes this time, and i held my breath. i very carefully squeezed into the dress, hoping i wouldn't pop the zipper. it barely fit!

naturally, my mom wanted to document the moment--me, in her dress, almost thirty-one years after her wedding.

here are a few of the cheesy poses from the awkward fake-bridal photoshoot.

my mom has been a great side kick wedding planner. the flower lady, invitation lady, catering lady, and cake lady were all hunted down because of her. my mom is fun and classy-the perfect combination for a wedding. oh, and she has great taste (hence the pretty dress above). today we met with the invitation lady and looked at proofs of the invitations. i'm getting even moreeeee excited now! (don't know if that's possible?) the inserts are so dang cute! but you'll have to wait a few more weeks to see them. no sneakity peeks of those.

anyways, i just wanted to say a quick thank you to my dear mother.

i love her, and i hope to have the kind of marriage she has.

i want these

i'm drooling over these invitations righhhhht now!
and that is all.

happy conference weekend!

one fateful day

this past wednesday,
i got out of class, called preston, and started walking to my car.
he was helping paul fix his car, so i decided to wander over to the mall in search of wedding finds.
at gap, i stumbled upon this shirt....



and fell in love. i called my mom and sister, hoping they would hurry down to see the prospective bridesmaids shirts.
my mom answered said she would hurry down! i was getting very excited. i had looked for weeks and weeks for possible outfits with no avail. maybe this would be a great start.

i wandered over to a few other stores while i patiently waited for my mom. i walked into banana republic (they're having a 25% off sale items) and saw a dusty rose color out of the corner of my eye. i quickly walked over to the shelf, hoping it was something good. and to my surprise....it was.

i found some simply beautiful dresses. in the perfect color. they were very summery with a greek-goddess feel.

the dresses had a similar feel and look as these few images....





and they were on sale! imagine my delight. i went over to nordstroms to meet my mom (dad had tagged along too), and i took them over to banana, completely forgetting about the shirts at gap. when i entered the store again, i stopped, staring at the lady at the check out counter. immediately, i knew who she was. she was buying a pink checkered shirt, probably for her little boy.
can you guess who it was?

i'll give you a hint...her blog won most inspirational blog of last year

it was stephanie nelson of Nie Nie Dialogues!
i purposefully stood by the front of the door, pretending to look at some coat.
when she was about to leave, i stopped her to talk for a minute. for a second i thought she would just brush me off, but she was so sweet and willing to talk to me.
i told her i was at the BYU beauty talk she gave last november, where she told the story of her accident and talked about beauty from within.
i meant to take a picture, but of course i forgot. this pic will have to do




so in all, i bought my bridesmaid dresses and met an inspirational lady.
i would say that's one for the records.

vendors

i'm feeling much better now that our main wedding vendors are booked! and i couldn't be happier about them. we were able to get some grrreat vendors for a smart price.
the wonderful lady who took our family pictures back in october (remember those? we loved working with her) is my wedding photographer. her name is mikki platt, and she is just a gem! here are a few engagement pics taken by mikki. her website can be found at www.mikkiplattphotography.com

my aunt tina referred me to the dressmaker of these lovely gowns.......






i met with the dressmaker, melissa blackburn, last week. we talked about fabric: silk chantone, lace, organza. she drew up some sketches and took my measurements. she will start working on my dress in a few weeks! in the mean time, i need to find some shoes and a corset. oh, and making sure i can fit into my dress...that would be nice too.
farewell ice cream and cupcakes (i will see you june 10th!).
hello carrots and salad.

speaking of food...these people are catering the family dinner for the first part of the reception.

yum! i met with them last night to finalize all the food and set-up.

everything's starting to come together slowly.

hopefully it will all be ready in 79 days.

it's quicklyyy approaching!

right now, my thoughts consist of all things wedding.
i'm learning to art of multitasking from being in school, working, and planning a wedding.
well actually... i'm trying to learn! truthfully, i actually might be somewhat of a bridezilla right now (ask preston or my mom, they will support that statement).
dealing with tests, papers, picking out invitations, bridesmaids leaving on missions, finding cake stands, old missionary drama, creating the perfect dress, losing my photographer to another bride, finding a florist, changing the wedding date like 15 times, etc!
i know everything will turn out fine, and i have some awesome people helping with everything. in the mean time, i just look at some of these pictures to bring a little peace.








aren't they beautiful?
flowers are great at increasing spirits, even if they are just pictures.
i'm a little bit obsessed with peonies right now.



i also love this picture! what a fun idea and cute couple.

the story.

on thursday (feb. 3), my cousin laura asked me to go with her to get her mission pictures taken. her roommate had offered to take the pictures up the canyon. i thought it was weird that they were taking pictures up the canyon, but laura said her roommate was also taking bridals for another girl there. Laura was going to get a few pictures taken after the bridal session was over. laura told me to look nice so i could get in a few pics as well.

laura picked me up on friday just after i got my hair cut. we drove up the canyon, talking about mission pictures and optional poses. we pulled up to canyon glen. i said to laura,

"hey this is where preston and i had our first kiss!",

and she said she had forgotten about that, and then she quickly changed the subject. we walked out into the park and across the bridge. in the distance, i saw flowers and assumed there were for the bridal shoot (oh how oblivious i can be!). as we came around the trees, this came in to sight....

i was shocked.

i asked laura where the stupid bridal shoot was, and she just laughed and walked away.

preston got down on one knee.

he asked me to marry him.

i smiled.

and i said yes.

we talked, ate chocolate and snuggled by the fire (he made it all by himself!)

i cried. and he did too... possibly even more than me. he's the sweetest boy.

(warning=kissing picture. i don't like posting kissing pics but this one is just too darn cute)

(pics are staged after the engagement. awesome photos taken by laura)

i was super surprised to say the least. he got me good. well, actually laura got me good. preston can't really lie, but laura sure can! i had no idea.

it was one of the best days of my life.

and i'm sure there's a lot more of those to come.